


Ignis ad Passio - Fire to Passion

by dbdude



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Developing Relationship, High School, M/M, Magic, Small Towns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-09-12
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:34:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26139742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dbdude/pseuds/dbdude
Summary: Matt should have been worried that Calum saw blue in his eyes, he should have been worried that this was a possible issue of exposure, he should have been searching through Calum’s mind to try and get rid of any trace of blue. Instead all Matt could do was smile at himMagic/High School AU
Relationships: Calum Hood/Original Male Character(s)





	1. Chapter 1

“Dude! We talked about this” Matt said as he froze time, “You can’t just light shit on fire when you get pissed off!”

“I didn’t mean to” Milcah said in her defense

Matt glared at her, his eyes shifting to a deep blue that moved as if they were an extension of the ocean. “You know that since we embraced Sara that we are stronger, all four elements in our coven do that and with that power comes a need to be more in check with your emotions. Do you think you can do that?” Matt said, glaring at Milcah.

“I’ll try,” She replied, shrinking into her seat. “Now put those away, they freak me out”

Matt chuckled in response. He put his hand on her shoulder and then sat back down and resumed time.

_ Can you calm it down now  _ Matt thought to Milcah

_ You really are against any fun aren’t you  _ she thought back

Matt just rolled his eyes and watched as the flame that had started in the trashcan contained itself enough for the paranoid teacher to get the fire extinguisher. He never understood how Milcah could be this reckless in public. He looked around and saw a new face in the chemistry classroom. Dark skin, brown eyes, and a sharp jawline. He looked him up and down before turning back toward the front of the classroom.

_ Who’s the new guy?  _ Matt thought to Milcah

She flipped her hair and looked in the direction of the new guy.  _ Hmmm, no clue. Shouldn’t take me too long to figure it out though _ . She looked back at me and winked.  _ Zehra might beat you to it though, that’s her type; tall, dark, and handsome. _

Matt rolled his eyes and put his arm around her shoulder.  _ You might be right, she may already be plotting how to seduce the poor guy _ his shoulder silently moved with laughter.

“Mr. Sipes, is there a reason that you and Ms. Barretto are not working on your acetylsalicylic acid mixture?” their teacher asked, upset and on edge after the mini trashcan fire.

“Sir, it’s properly mixed. We were just waiting for you to explain how we were going to dry the mixture” Milcah replied, not missing a beat. She was calm and sitting back in her seat now.

Their teacher took a small sample of the mixture in their beaker and tested it. “Hmm, it does appear your mixture is correct… almost completely pure.” He eyed them warily.

“Would you like us to set it up so it will dry overnight?” Matt asked him

The teacher nodded “Once you are done, you are dismissed.”. He then walked away, to help other students who were struggling. They were in advanced chemistry but having been studying and mixing potions in their free time for years, they were quite a bit ahead of the learning curve. They went ahead and set up a distillation so that the liquid would evaporate in a few hours. They got up and left after moving the set up to the side of the classroom.

_ I hate him, arrogant ass prick _

_ He’s just doing his job Milcah _

_ Yeah, yeah. Still think he is a prick _

They walked towards the greenhouse that was behind the cafeteria, their campus was open with five main class buildings, a cafeteria, and a few smaller buildings for activities. They were lucky to have the greenhouse courtesy of the horticulture club. It allowed the coven to have a space to be somewhat themselves while still in school. Matt and Milcah made their way inside and found Sara sitting there reading a grimoire on what looked to be some kind of elemental magic.

“What’s up Sara?” Milcah said and bounded over to sit down on one of the benches that surrounded the greenery. She looked up from the book and smiled when she saw them, her smile turned into a questioning look after a second.

“Shouldn’t you two be in Chemistry?” She asked

“We finished our lab early so we were dismissed.” Matt said as he walked over to where one of their bookcases was hidden behind the thin veil of a glamour. He reached through and grabbed a book on emotions and their tie to magic. He handed it to Milcah, “Read.”. She sighed and rolled her eyes but took the book.

“What did you do this time Milcah?” Sara said once she realized what book I grabbed.

“She lit a trashcan on fire.”

“BRUHHHHHH” Sara yelled out. “I thought you were getting better about that?”

“Me fucking too, but that prick of a teacher pissed me off.” Milcah said without looking up, already reading a passage from the book.

“How do you feel right now?” Matt asked her. “Do you need to let go of some of it?”

She contemplated that for a minute, “Couldn’t hurt, will help me chill out maybe”

She stood up and Matt held out his hand palms down towards her, she met his hands palms up. Their eyes flickered to resemble the elements that they were attuned to; Matt’s becoming blue, Milcah’s flickering to a deep orange that would flash to red every few moments to resemble fire. Matt could feel the energy passing into him, it dulled the intensity of the flames in Milcah’s eyes to a small ember, Matt’s however grew into a more deep and intense blue. The steady stream of energy into Matt made his skin tingle and he felt stronger. Matt cut off the connection by letting his hands fall closed his eyes to ground himself again.

“Better?” He asked her.

“I don’t feel like I’ll randomly set shit on fire now.” She snipped. Milcah didn’t particularly like transferring energy, but she knew that it made it easier in school for them all. She hated feeling weaker however, but since Sara joined they all had gotten an upgrade in the power department, her and Zehra were having some trouble dealing with it. They were open with their emotions and that sometimes led to accidents.

“Good, now read that during your free period, since you still need to figure out how to control yourself.” Matt pointed to the book that she had left on the bench. Milcah had been one of the more in control members before Sara had joined, but with Sara joining and completing their coven’s elemental circle they had surged with power. Before they had always had to use a spell to manipulate something outside of their affinity, but now Matt had been able to use magic by thinking the spell, or in some cases sans a spell entirely. It had excited him and he had poured through many of the grimoires and books of shadows that had been passed down from the Elder’s. Sara had joined him in studying these texts and now they were the most knowledgeable and well-trained of the coven. Matt head learned how to do many things including freezing time, he was working on manipulating it via speeding it up or skipping through it, but that was something that made him nervous. In all the tomes he had read about time magic, they all cautioned it stating that it was dangerous.

AJ and Darby both didn’t quite like him using time magic, but they had come to an agreement that freezing time to deal with issues was acceptable. They were the responsible ones of the coven and held discretion and secrecy above all else. It was their idea to glamour the tomes that were held in this greenhouse in case anyone wandered in here.

“Ok, I need to get to Calculus or AJ will have my head” Matt said, jumping up.

“I should head to government as well” Sara said, as she placed the book back on the shelf.

“I’ll walk you” I said, we both grabbed our bags and left.

“Yeah, I’ll just stay here and read about my fucking emotions. Great!” Milcah shouted behind us, no doubt flipping us off.

_ She needs to get it under control  _ I thought to Sara.

She furrowed her brow;  _ she’s still adjusting, Sara _ replied. They made their way across campus, weaving into traffic heading between buildings and falling into a steady groove.

_ It’s been two months; she shouldn’t be setting trashcans on fire. Thank God her eyes aren’t flashing anymore. I don’t know if I can explain that away without wiping some memories…  _ I gave Sara a side eye that said more than any words could.

_ I know… and while we could pull it off, I’m not sure what the aftermath would entail. The human mind is fragile and mass magic can be… volatile. _

We made it to the social science building, and we stopped by the door. “We will have to talk about it with everyone” I said aloud. She nodded and went to her class. Matt sighed, he loved Milcah but damn if she wasn’t so much trouble. He made his way to the math building, walked into the classroom and took his normal spot next to AJ. He gave him a look and he nodded.

_ Darby and I both felt it _ AJ thought to me.

_ If we got her under control, I wouldn’t have to keep doing it _ Matt replied.

_ We know _ he thought back.

Matt pulled out his phone for the few minutes before class, looking at twitter and Instagram to catch up on the mindless drama. The bell rang and he put away his phone.

“Hello Class” the teacher echoed in a too cheery voice.

“Hello Mr. Smith” The students echoed back in a drone. They would all rather be anywhere else but that didn’t dishearten the teacher’s mood.

“I have your graded exams to give back today.” The class groaned at the announcement and Mr. Smith began to pass the exams back.” As the exams were being passed back, the majority of the students groaned at the grade. Matt didn’t know why, this exam had been fairly easy. It was basic derivatives and the theory behind them. The only main thing he remembered from it as being mildly hard was the basic proof of a derivative and that was only difficult because mathematical proofs suck. He continued around the room, Matt was not paying attention, he was staring out the window daydreaming.

“Oh, Mr. Hood. Yes. You are exempt from this exam since it is your first day.” The professor said. Matt had never heard the name Hood before in this class… or ever in the school. He turned his head curiously and saw the teacher standing by the table in front of his own. Talking with a student who looked to be mildly tall, although it was hard to judge since he was sitting down, had a deep tan to skin like one you see in Hawaii or another island in the pacific, and hair black as ink.

_ Who’s that?  _ Matt thought to AJ

_ I dunno, some new kid. Why? _

_ He was in my chem class, just curious  _ I thought back

_ Mhmm. _

Mr. Smith made his way over to our table. They sat at the back in this class. AJ preferred it and Matt was doing fine in this class, so it didn’t bother him.

“Boys, excellent as usual. If I didn’t know better Mr. Sipes, I’d say you were cheating.” The teacher joked. Matt just smiled back and took his exam from his outstretched hand. He laid the exam on his desk, he saw the 100% in red ink on the top and knew he could zone out since it would be a review today. The new boy turned around and glanced at his paper. An impressed look crossed his face and he looked up to meet Matt’s eyes. Matt was already lost looking out the window again. The new boy looked for a moment too long before turning back to the front.

_ New boy was staring _ Aj thought to Matt at he got ready to take notes on the few questions he messed up on the exam.

Matt Ignored him and kept staring out the window. Mr. Smith had gotten halfway through the exam before Matt had tuned back in to reality and looked at the man explaining the proof.

_ That’s wrong  _ he thought to AJ.

_ Are you going to tell him? _ AJ thought back.

Matt raised his hand, “Sir? I think that should read ‘f of a’ not ‘f of x’ and then it should be over ‘x minus a’ not ‘x plus a’.”

Mr. Smith gave me an incredulous look, “I’ll check my book.” He walked over to check the proof, after a few moments he walked back over and made the changes. “It appears you were correct.” Matt nodded at him.

_ Show off _ , Matt smiled at AJ’s comment. The new kid looked back at him then, he had the deepest brown eyes and Matt found himself looking into them.

The teacher cleared his throat then, “The board is up here, Mr. Hood.” The new kid snapped back around and paid attention again to the class.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw AJ smirking at him.  _ Shut up _ Matt glared at AJ.

_ Zee, who’s this new guy?  _ Matt reached out to Zehra, she should be with Milcah at the greenhouse. They synced up their free periods to hang out, although if you asked anyone in the coven it was to cause mischief.

_ Oh, his name is Calum Hood… That’s all I’ve really gotten out of the grape vine. He just moved here yesterday. _ She replied.

_ Thanks, _ He sent back.  _ Try not to cause any fires like Milcah. _

_ Bro, I ain’t dumb dumb like her… Oh fuck _ She thought to him, the last part was probably by accident.

_ What the hell did you do? _ He asked.

_ Well, it’s out now so no harm no foul  _ Zehra thought back.

_ It’s probably better if I just don’t know. _ Matt sent back.

The bell rang then, and all the students packed away their belongings. Matt hadn’t taken anything out so all he had to do was put his exam away into a folder. He waited on AJ to pack up his mountain of materials. To the outside eye it appeared like AJ took school super seriously, however he just had a bunch of stuff. He took it seriously, just not as much as his mountain of textbooks and notes looked like he did. Calum got up and turned around to look at them.

“Hey, I think you’re in my chemistry class.” Calum said to Matt. The Australian accent that accompanied Calum’s baritone voice was not lost on Matt.

“Oh, hey” He caught Matt off guard, his voice was not what he expected to come from the guy and people don’t usually talk to members of the coven unless they were spoken to first, it was an unspoken rule throughout the school. They somehow made up the top of the social hierarchy at their school. The six members dominated certain aspects of high school life. Matt had academics and weightlifting, Darby had running and the future of business professional club, Zehra cornered key club as well as most of the English department was eating out of the palm of her hand, Sara took over debate and green club, AJ was just well respected among the student population, and Milcah was of the ‘bad’ student population but she maintained good grades.

“Yeah, possibly” Matt replied, “I try and tune out the majority of that class.”

“I noticed.” Calum said chuckling, “You looked bored out of your mind.”

AJ finished getting the rest of his stuff together and looked at Matt with raised eyebrows, “Ready?”

“Yeah” Matt replied. He followed AJ to the aisle of the classroom. As they were leaving the classroom he called out behind him, “See you around Calum.” Matt smirked.

_ How’d you find out his name? _ AJ thought

_ I didn’t, Zee did _ Matt replied

_ Makes sense. _

They made their way to the cafeteria and claimed their usual table. It was one of the few larger round tables that was near a window. Matt was starving, one of the side effects of absorbing extra energy was hunger. He already ate a good amount of food normally, but this always made him ravenous. He was getting used to it though, having to absorb Milcah’s and occasionally Zehra’s extra energy when they were getting a big out of control. They had attributed the wildness that they exhibited with being related to a fire attunement, since they had no other explanations and the rest of the group was faring decently well. AJ and Matt went through the lunch line and loaded their selves up with a good amount of food, they paid and went to sit back down at their table. They found the rest of their group there already sitting. Darby made eye contact with him and he knew there would be a group discussion about what had happened earlier. Matt sat down next to AJ and Sara. He laid his palm out to Sara and they linked for a moment. They both closed their eyes and imagined all the individuals at the table linking into a group consciousness. Matt removed his hands and opened his eyes.

_ Yes? _ He sent out.

Everyone at the table was eating and checking their phones, it would look weird to an outsider if they all were just staring at one another and not talking out loud, but when matters like this came up they had to talk it out and somethings couldn’t be said allowed in the presence of their normal classmates.

_ Care to explain what happened earlier _ Darby replied, she was nonchalantly eating an apple, but her eyes were glued to Matt.

_ Milcah set a trashcan on fire, I froze time so we could talk about it _ Matt replied, What else should he have done, let the fire burn down the school?

_ Milcah, I thought you were getting better at controlling it _ Darby sighed even in her thought. Everyone had been patient with the small girl, but patience was wearing thin.

_ I’m trying, its just natural… _ Milcah thought. She sounded like she was embarrassed in her thoughts, but she was across the table looking anything but, fully engrossed in a game of basketball it looked like.

Darby sighed a loud  _ anything else that we need to talk about before we meet Wednesday. _

No one had anything else to contribute, they each separately broke their connection and went about their normal lunch.

“So, I heard there's a new guy.” Darby said, trying to start a conversation that wasn’t as tense as the mental one they had just had.

“Yeah, he is in both of Matt’s morning classes I think.” Darby looked at Matt after AJ’s response. Her eyebrows raised as if telling him to spill. “He couldn’t stop staring at Matt either…” AJ said a bit quieter. Darby’s face turned into a grin. “Oh?” She said.

Matt shrugged, “I think he looked back at me once, probably seeing how I did on my exam.”

“Mhmm, sure” Darby replied, a full smile spreading across her face.


	2. Chapter 2

Thud, bang, crash was the sound echoing throughout the local gym. Matt was focused on lifting up the deadlift bar. Sweat freely flowing at this point in his workout. His attitude was always one more, one days like today when he had to let out some extra steam, that mantra echoed more than usual. He let the bar down and squatted down to rest, his eyes closing and hands sitting on the bar to keep it still. His breathing was fast, but it was slowly returning to normal.

“How many sets you have left” Came a voice. He could just barely hear it over the sound of his heart racing, and music blasting.

“Just like one more” He called out, probably a little louder than needed. He didn’t open his eyes to see who the voice came from.

Matt took a moment to get his breathing back to normal and then focused on the bar in front of him. He was finishing this off with a set of eight, and then he just had a little bit of cardio to do. He struggled through the last of his workout and then unloaded the bar. This workout had fucked him up. He made his way over to the cardio section of the gym and got on the one that was beside Darby.

“When’d you get here?” Matt asked through a pant.

“Like ten or fifteen minutes ago, I think” She was just jogging at this point, hadn’t broken a sweat. “Wanna do some sprints?” She asked.

“Might as well, actually kill me”

“Yeah, cause that would happen” She looked at Matt and her eyes just barely speckled brown.

Matt felt a wave of relief roll over himself. He rolled his eyes at her.

_ For someone so worried about exposure, you do this too often  _ Matt thought to her.

“I can get away with it here.” She replied out loud. “Now are we sprinting or not?”

Matt sighed and got on the treadmill and set it to a sprint program and put on an EDM playlist. He looked at Darby and they started in sync. He warmed up with a jog, that changed into an all out sprint a minute later. His legs flying across the treadmill as his lungs burned from the oxygen being expended. The pace slowed back to normal and he glanced over at Darby to see her mirroring him. She smirked at him and her eyes just barely glanced brown. It was on, he looked at her and felt a rush flow over him as he tapped into a deep raw power within him. He knew his eyes flickered by how Darby’s face reacted. They both pushed up their sprints a few levels and went at it. Matt felt the energy that he had called upon course through his muscles. He could have sprinted for days it felt like. He glanced over at Darby to see her looking about the same, they were running at nearly twenty-five miles per hour and it looked effortless. People around them were staring at this point, but not in a surprised way. They were admiring, Darby was top athlete of the track team at their school and Matt was a gym rat. While this wasn’t normal, it was for them. They finished up their sprints, they had a sheen of sweat on them but other than that did not look like they just sprinted almost four miles in a matter of 10 minutes. They got off the treadmills and walked near the front of the gym towards the door.

“Please tell me you aren’t on the soccer team here.” Said a low voice, tinted with an Australian accent.

Matt looked behind his shoulder to see Calum looking at him.

_ Hmmm, just looked at me once huh?  _ Darby thought to him. She went ahead and waited by the door, just within ear shot.

“Oh hey, why do you ask?” Matt replied to Calum, a hint of confusion coloring his tone.

“Because if you are, then I have no chance of getting captain while I’m here. Unless you just suck at ball handling.” He retorted, a smirk settling on his face by the end of his comment.

The corner of Matt’s lips turned up slightly, “Well, soccer isn’t quite my forte so you should be safe.” He turned away and walked towards the door. Darby was giggling and raised her eyebrows in Calum’s direction before following me out of the building.

“Looked like more than a look to me.” Darby said as she nudged my side. Matt just rolled his eyes in response. They got in their separate cars and waved goodbye to each other.

“Hey, so I was thinking. We should hang out.” Calum said as he walked up to Matt in the parking lot.

“Why is that?” Matt replied distractedly, looking around for Milcah and Zehra. Darby had texted him earlier saying they were acting weird.

“Well, I think you’re kinda cool and I’m cool. So seems like a no brainer.” Calum said with a smile. Matt stopped looking around and turned to face Calum. He locked eyes with the tan skinned boy and a smile appeared on his face.

“No brainer?” Matt asked.

“Yeah, and I know you aren’t dumb, so what do you say?” Calum said with a big smile on his face.

Matt thought about it for a moment, “I-“. He was cut off when one of the cars near him burst into flames. He was shocked by it and then his eyes found Milcah and Zehra by the stairs of the school. They were holding hands and it looked like they were chanting something under their breath as they stared intently at the car. The inferno that was now the car was growing. Matt took a second and then ran towards the car.

Once he got close enough he saw that his chemistry teacher was in the car, he looked to be on the verge of passing out from the smoke that filled the inside of the car. Matt tapped in to his power and willed the car door open. He felt a resistance and could feel the familiar energy that exuded from Milcah and Zehra fighting against him. He tapped into more of his energy and ripped the car door open. He heard one of the hinges break, but thankfully the door stayed attached. He grabbed the limp body of his now unconscious teacher and carried him away from the car. After a few moments he felt the heat of the car explosion behind him.

Those two were really testing him today, he had to shield his back from the fire as it skirted up behind him. He laid his teacher down, and turned to see Calum standing there as if he had seen a ghost.

“Call 911 now!” Matt ordered. Calum grabbed his phone and did as he was told. Matt closed his eyes and sensed to see if there were any major issues that his teacher had been afflicted by due to his friends. The only thing that he could feel was the smoke inhalation which the hospital would treat. He looked up to glare at where Milcah and Zehra were, they were staring at him with anger.

_ What the fuck were the two of you thinking?!  _ He thought at both of them.

The sound of an ambulance coming, cut him off from yelling at the two of them further. The ambulance pulled up near where Matt was kneeling and the paramedics took over. He stepped away from the scene before being pulled aside by another one of them to answer a few questions.

“Can you give me the full description of what happened?” A paramedic asked Matt.

“Sure, I was walking inside to class when a car caught on fire. I ran over to it and saw my teacher panicking before he passed out. I pulled at the car door and it gave way. I carried him over here before the car exploded.”

The paramedic nodded at me, “You saved his life.” He clapped Matt’s shoulder before heading to get in the ambulance.

Matt was furious, he was already thinking about how he could punish those two idiots appropriately without killing them.

“Hey, you good?” Calum had walked up to him and snapped him out of his thoughts.

“What? Oh yeah, I’m fine. Crazy huh?” Matt replied, trying to play it off. He had dealt with more fires than he cared to admit since learning about magic and practicing with the coven. Milcah used to accidentally set something on fire almost every time she tried to do simple magic.

“Are you sure bro? You, like, just actually saved a life.” Calum said.

“I just did what anyone would do.” Matt replied truthfully. He was reaching out to feel where the rest of his coven was, he felt them gathered in the greenhouse. “Hey, I am late for a meeting before class. I’ll catch you later yeah?” Matt said as he ran towards the greenhouse.

__

"What the fuck?" Matt practically roared as he entered the greenhouse. His eyes immediately landed on Milcah. “What idiotic insane idea made you think that was an appropriate use of magic?”

“Calm down, Matty. We’ve already yelled at them enough.” Darby said as she came over to him.

Matt looked at her incredulously, “No! You have not Darby. They almost killed someone today, they will not have been yelled at enough until they get that through their heads.” Matt walked over to stand in front of Milcah. He looked her in the eyes, “You almost killed someone today! Do you understand that? You almost took the life of another, and for what? You didn’t like him??”

Matt looked at Milcah and then at Zehra, they were both looking dejectedly at the ground now. “We just wanted to scare him, make him have a change of heart or something. It got out of hand” Milcah whispered, her eyes not able to meet his.

Matt stood back up and looked at Darby and AJ. “I call for a meeting tonight to discuss the repercussions of these actions. They threatened exposure today, for all of us! I had to tap into some serious power in public to lessen the severity of today. Hopefully no one saw me.”

“I second it.” Sara said. He looked at her and nodded.

“The meeting will occur tonight at eleven o’clock” AJ said. “For the time being it is in the best interest of everyone if there is limited usage.” He then turned to look at Milcah and Zehra, “Is that clear?”

“Yes” They both responded.

Matt was placated for the moment; he would voice bigger concerns later. He walked out of the greenhouse. It was essentially a free period since they had no teacher, but he walked over to the chemistry classroom, figuring it would be empty and he could think about the hectic morning.

On his way to the classroom he noticed a couple kids staring at him more than usual.  _ Great _ he thought to himself. Just what he needed, more attention. He got to the classroom and sat down in his normal seat, he put his head in his hands and just thought about what this meant. Milcah and Zehra couldn’t be trusted with magic right now. It was too dangerous; they were out of control. Had he not been there this morning, they would have murdered someone.

He felt a hand on his shoulder. He left his head in his hands and just waited, he was not afraid of anyone at this school. With a single thought he could end them, but unlike others, he had the control to not.

“What’s wrong? For someone who saved a life today you look like shit.” Calum said to him. His voice was becoming familiar for someone he had met about twenty-four hours ago.

“Just a lot going on” He replied dryly.

“Try me.” Calum replied.

Matt looked up and met Calum’s eyes. “I’d rather not.” He said. A smile was fighting at the corner of his lips. “I recall something about you asking me to hang out with you though, or did I imagine that?” Matt said, the smile turning into a smirk.

Calum laughed, “You did not imagine that.” He was smiling at Matt and their eyes locked. “But you never gave me an answer.”

“Well, it would be rude to say no to the new student I guess.” Matt said and shrugged.

Calum lightly punched his shoulder, “Wow, what a great way to say yes.” He was laughing and Matt forgot about all the drama in his coven for a second, he just let himself enjoy a sound that was like music to his ears.

“So, are you trying out for soccer?” Matt asked.

“Yeah, I couldn’t find any information on tryouts though.” Calum said and frowned a little.

Matt rolled his eyes and got up. “I can help with that, come on.” He gestured for Calum to follow him and they made their way to the gym. Matt knew that the captain of varsity soccer was having a gym class then and should be able to talk.

“Where are we going?” Calum asked.

Matt didn’t answer him and just kept up the steady pace until they were at the gym. They slipped inside and Matt saw coach Wood. He made eye contact and the middle aged man walked over.

“To what do I owe the pleasure Mr. Sipes? Finally gonna agree to captain one of my teams?”

“I can do you one better sir.” He gestured to Calum, “This is Calum Hood, recent transfer student from Australia and I think he is exactly what your team is missing.”

Coach Wood looked Calum up and down. “What position you play Hood?”

“Central midfielder, sir.”, Coach grunted out his approval. “Well, if Sipes vouches for you that’s it. Practice is after school on the soccer field. We’ll see if he still knows what he’s talking about.”

“I’ve already given you a trophy in one sport, wouldn’t be fair to do it in two.” Matt said laughing.

“Disagree” Coach wood replied.

“Wait, so I don’t have to try out?” Calum said, he looked incredulous.

“I trust his word, if you’re shit I’ll find out soon enough. For now, you are on the team. Do not disappoint me.” Coach replied to Calum. “Now, shouldn’t y’all be in class? Or are you going to save anyone else from a burning car today?” Coach said to them dismissively before blowing his whistle at the class and bringing them back to order.

Calum and Matt walked away from the gym.

“I guess I met the right guy,” Calum said as they got outside.

“Oh yeah? Why is that?” Matt asked, looking sideways at Calum.

“You just got me on the soccer team with a conversation. That’s why.”

Matt just shrugged, “If your crap at soccer you won’t stay on. Not like you’re playing a game today.”

The bell rang then signaling the end of the period.

“Well, looks like we have to get to class” Calum said.

Matt looked at him confused and then remembered that Calum was in his Calculus class. His face went back to normal and he nodded. They walked to class together side by side.

They got to the math building and Matt stopped by the door and tapped Calum’s shoulder so he would stop.

“Thanks Calum.” Matt said and then walked past him inside the classroom. He took his seat by AJ who just smiled at him.

_ It’s going to be ok, we’ll figure it out. _ AJ thought to him.

Calum walked in and took his seat at the table in front of Matt’s. He turned around and looked at AJ.

“Hey, I’m Calum.” He said as he extended his hand toward AJ to shake.

AJ looked at him wearily and then glanced at Matt. The corner of Matt’s lips turned up in a half smile.

_ Don’t be rude. _ Matt thought to AJ.

“Hi, I’m AJ and class is starting.” He didn’t take up Calum’s offer on the handshake and instead opened his notebook as Mr. Smith entered the room.

“Good morning class.” The teacher droned in a too cheery tone.

Calum glanced at Matt who just gave him a shrug and then grabbed his notebook from his bag.

_ Dick _ Matt thought to AJ.

_ Why does it matter? _ he replied.

_ He’s nice. _ Matt thought to AJ.

_ Well, how about you stop thinking about the nice guy and worry about how we are going to handle the coven.  _ Aj replied.

Matt shook his head and attempted to pay attention to the lecture. It appeared to be a new unit but was going over something he already knew.  _ Why can’t this class be hard for just once? _ Matt thought to himself.

Calum suddenly turned around and looked at Matt. Matt just looked back at him and raised his eyebrows as if to say  _ what? _ Calum shook himself and turned back around.

_ Nice and weird apparently _ AJ thought to Matt.

Matt ignored him and stared out the window, as was his routine in this class and thought about what could be done about Milcah and Zehra.

Matt walked through the wooded area towards their covens meeting house. He dreaded what he would have to bring up. What if they hated him after tonight, what if they never spoke to him again, what if… was all that was running through his mind. He knew this was the best way to deal with the issue, he just hoped the rest of his coven agreed as well. Sara would be on his side, she usually was. AJ would probably side with him as well. Darby was the wild card here; he’d rather not involve their elder, but he would if the decision came to a tie.

He doubted Zehra’s mom knew that what had happened today at school was her daughter’s fault. Zehra wouldn’t tell her she was the direct cause though. She would fear her mother’s disappointment.

Matt entered a clearing in the woods to find the familiar site of an abandoned house that the coven used as a meeting place as well as somewhere that they could practice. It was secluded enough from the town in which they lived that no one would unintentionally stumble upon it, however it was close enough that they could walk to it easily. Matt walked up the dilapidated stairs and entered the two-story house. When they first had found the house it was, for lack of a better word, disgusting. Since they started to use it almost daily, the inside had been cleaned up and made to feel more inviting. The outside however would stay in its current state, out of fear of random people stumbling upon the house.

The tension in the room was almost palpable as he entered the living room that they used as their main room for meetings. The other five members were seated in the couches around the room. Zehra and Milcah on one couch, Darby and AJ on another, and Sara sitting alone. Matt took a seat beside Sara.

_ This should be fun _ . He thought to Sara.

She didn’t respond, but he knew she wasn't as comfortable with meetings that had a purpose other than their weekly or monthly ones.

_ It’s going to be fine. We are family here.  _ He thought to her. She responded with a weak smile.

“Might as well get this going.” Darby said as she stood from her place on the couch. “We all know why this meeting was called today; an act was committed by two of our members today that put our secret in jeopardy. They were reckless and now we must decide on a course of action for all of us.” Darby continued. She motioned towards me. “Matt called this meeting and therefore has first say in this meeting.” She finished and sat back down.

Matt opted to stay seated on the couch, he took a moment to breath. “Zehra and Milcah put us in danger today, they risked exposure. While they did not mean for what happened to go as far as it did, it did. The fact that they lost control raises another point today.” Matt looked around the room and took another breath, he wasn’t sure how this would get taken by the group. “Are they ready to be able to practice on their own right now?”.

Matt looked at Zehra and saw shock in her eyes, she couldn’t believe he was suggesting what he was. Were they capable of controlling themselves? Matt avoided Milcah’s gaze knowing it would be full of anger. Even if she thought he was right, that was her response to most things lately.

“What are you recommending?” AJ asked carefully.

“I am recommending that Milcah and Zehra’s ability to practice alone be stripped for the time being.”

“No! That is not safe, what if we get attacked?” Zehra spoke up then. Her eyes were full of anger, towards Matt.

“You will still be able to practice with someone who is attuned to a different element other than yourself.” Matt stated, “Think of it as a way to learn from one of the more controlled members of the group.”

“This is ridiculous.” Milcah said, she stood to her feet beside Zehra. “If you think you will take my magic away then you are insane.” She was staring at Matt intensely.

“Then come up with a better idea.” Matt said looking at the two of them. “You both almost killed a man today. I don’t think you grasp the severity of that. The two of you almost stole a man of his life, stole him from his family, from the world; all because you could not control your emotions and as a result the power that courses through you. A break from practicing alone might be exactly what you two need!” Matt was now standing, looking down on Zehra and Milcah. He could feel AJ emanating his pull over their emotions, but he had fought it off of him. It had an effect on the other two however or he was finally getting through to them.

He glanced at AJ, “I know you mean well, but stop it.”

AJ nodded and the pull at the edge of his mind stopped. AJ could manipulate the mood of individuals and their emotions. Things were getting mildly heated, but he knew that he had a grip over his own emotions. Milcah and Zehra however were firecrackers, but they seemed to have calmed down.

“How long?” Milcah asked, she looked up from under her eyelashes at Matt. She bared a strong resemblance to a toddler at the moment and he had to keep himself from chuckling at her. Matt motioned for her and Zehra to take their seats again.

“I propose a trial period of one month. Your powers will need to be combined with one of a different elemental attunement to be unlocked. Basically, just not each other.” Matt stated. “This is what I am proposing as a solution for the time being. As well as trying to spend more time with other members of the group, so that you can learn control.”

Darby then stood up. “Does anyone else have another idea of how to proceed?”

The room was silent then. Matt could see Milcah and Zehra trying to think of another plan to volunteer but both ended up dejectedly looking at the floor.

“Alright, then it will go to a vote. All those in favor of binding Milcah and Zehra’s solo magic for a preliminary period of a month raise your hand.”

Matt, Sara, and AJ raised their hands.

“All those opposed?” Darby asked. Milcah and Zehra raised their hands.

“Darby? What is your vote?” AJ asked. Darby looked between Zehra and Milcah, “I vote for the binding of their solo magic.”

After the vote the coven had prepared for the ritual by gathering the needed herbs and ingredients needed for the ritual. It could not be performed until midnight, so they had time to prepare for it.

The ritual called for a circle of salt, hawthorn, and a cat’s claw flower. These combined with Zehra and Milcah’s blood would be all the reagents needed.

It was 11:50pm, just ten minutes until they would bind two of their members.

“Will it hurt?” Milcah was sitting beside Matt. She wasn’t mad anymore; they had talked, and she knew that he just wanted the best for her and that this was the best option for them. It had also helped that he said he would practice with her and try to get her to a controlled point. Darby had basically done the same to Zehra.

“It shouldn’t. We aren’t taking anything away, just putting something under a sort of lock.” Matt hesitated, “You will probably feel weaker, my family’s book of shadows said something about even feeling frustrated… but nothing about pain.”

“Ok” Milcah smiled a sad smile up at Matt. He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug.

“It’s going to be ok, one month and we’ll have you with so much control that this will never be an issue again.”

Matt got up then and pulled Milcah up as well. “It’s time.”

The others had prepared everything needed. They entered the attic and Matt took his place around the salt circle on the floor. Milcah and Zehra stepped into the circle of salt and stood with each other, holding hands.

As far as rituals went this one was straight forward. Hawthorn and cat’s claw were to be along with the blood of them both, while the members of the coven chanted an incantation thrice.

Matt, AJ, Darby, and Sara all took positions around the salt circle and took each other’s hands. They formed a connection by visualizing the flow of energy through each of them and then emanating outward to create a field of raw power around them.

“It’s time.” Darby announced. They all closed their eyes and began the chant.

**_Ab antiquis vires, nos hoc coetus liga virtutes praesens in hoc circulo._ **

**_Per solum pertinet ad alterum, possunt, uti antiqua._ **

**_Sic est locutus, ita erit._ **

****

After the first chant the air around them crackled with what felt to be lightning, it struck the circle of salt. The salt began to glow bright white.

**_Ab antiquis vires, nos hoc coetus liga virtutes praesens in hoc circulo._ **

**_Per solum pertinet ad alterum, possunt, uti antiqua._ **

**_Sic est locutus, ita erit._ **

After the second chant the herbs began to burn brighter, a red fume being released from the bowls and enveloping the circle of salt in a translucent veil.

**_Ab antiquis vires, nos hoc coetus liga virtutes praesens in hoc circulo._ **

**_Per solum pertinet ad alterum, possunt, uti antiqua._ **

**_Sic est locutus, ita erit._ **

After the third and final chant a gust of wind tore through the attic. The burning herbs were put out, the salt circle swept away, and the red fume disappearing. Matt slowly lowered his hands and broke the circle. The room immediately was void of any sound except each of their breathing.

“How do y’all feel?” Matt asked.

Milcah and Zehra looked at him, tears were in their eyes.

They spoke together, “Drained.”


	3. Chapter 3

“I’m making you aware, I really fucking hate this shit Matthew!” Zehra said as she got in Matt’s car. 

“Tell me about it whore, I had to make my own quesadilla yesterday… like had to cook.” Milcah said from the backseat. “It felt wrong, gross, normal.” She said while making a gagging face. 

Matt had volunteered to pick them up, he felt bad for them. They had to basically learn to be normal again overnight. As much as the coven said that they didn’t abuse their magic… they did. Milcah and Zehra were admittedly the worst in that aspect but none of them were innocent. 

“Oh Mah Gawd!” Milcah gasped. “Zehra! How am I going to open my locker???” Milcah’s eyes were wide and staring blankly at Zehra now. Matt had to stifle back a laugh, he coughed to cover it up. 

“Gurllll, how am I going to open my locker?! Oh Mah Gawd!!! Wait…” Zehra looked wide eyed at Matt now. “Do we have to do our own homework?! Like by hand?” 

Matt couldn’t stop himself now and burst out into a hearty laugh that brought tears to his eyes. 

“This isn’t funny!!” The two girls shouted. 

“Oh no, it definitely is.” Matt said.

They had just pulled into the school parking lot and he parked beside Darby’s car. He could see her sitting in it waiting for them. 

Why are your cheeks wet? Have you been crying?! Darby thought to Matt.

Yes, these bitches are fucking hilarious! Matt replied.

Darby had a slight smile on her face as she got out of her car. Matt followed suit and waited for the girls to begrudgingly make their way out as well. Darby looked them both up and down waiting for something to happen. 

“Hey!” Someone said behind Matt.

“Oh, hey Calum!” Darby said cheerfully, “What’s up?”

Matt glanced over his shoulder and his smile widened a miniscule amount. “Hey! How was practice yesterday?”

Calum returned the smile, “I didn’t get kicked off, so I guess pretty well.”

Darby had an amused look on her face, “Practice?” She asked.

“Yeah, Matt talked to the coach and got me a try-out.” Calum replied, he nudged Matt’s shoulder and snuck a side glance at him. 

“Interesting.” Darby said, she looked at Matt. “How nice of you.” Everyone knew he didn’t do favors for people outside of his friend group unless he wanted something in return. 

“Well, I better help Zehra and Milcah with getting their stuff to class.” Darby said and waved goodbye.

Calum cocked his head to the side at Darby. “Oh, they hit their heads last night. Clumsy little shits.” She said and smiled back at him before heading in the direction of their lockers.

Calum looked at Matt then with raised eyebrows. Matt laughed, “What? My friends are weird.” He shrugged. 

“Fair enough.” Calum replied, laughing a little. “What are you up to later?” 

“Ummm, probably just studying Calc or something. Why?” Matt asked, his brows furrowing. 

“Cool, so after I get done with practice wanna grab something to eat?” Calum asked. He was looking at Matt, waiting for his answer.

Matt contemplated it for a second, “Sure, give me your phone.” Matt held out his hand waiting for Calum to give him his phone. He fished it out of his pocket and unlocked it. Matt was met with a picture of the cutest dog that he was sure to find out about at some point. He opened up the contacts and added his own to the list and then texted himself ‘Calum’. Matt handed the phone back.

“Sweet.” Calum said with a goofy smile on his face. 

Matt just rolled his eyes, “We’re gonna be late for chem. I heard there’s a substitute.” 

Chemistry was uneventful. Matt sat beside Milcah as normal, she hadn’t managed to get her locker open, so she didn’t have her books. Not the end of the world but still an annoyance for sure. They didn’t end up needing their books. The substitute assigned them a basic lab, well basic for the pair, but mildly challenging for the rest of the class. They were creating a magnetized precipitate from ammonia. This usually took a whole class period for students, the substitute said. Matt looked at Milcah and she rolled her eyes. She looked at him and then cocked her head. 

“Ughh, this is annoying” She whispered.

Matt chuckled and moved his hand onto her thigh, establishing a connection.

Better? He thought to her.

Oh my god, you haven’t heard any of what I’ve been saying to you?? 

Bitch no, did you forget you can’t practice without someone else. Matt thought to Milcah.

I didn’t realize that someone else meant a physical connection…

The substitute handed out the lab materials and they got to work. A lot of the instructions looked to be bull shit telling them to wait x amount of time between additions of a titrate. When you knew what to look for, you could do it quicker usually. After about forty-five minutes Matt and Milcah were done with their experiment and had successfully prepared an aqueous solution of magnetized ferrofluid and decanted it to be left with only the magnetite. Milcah had answered up the majority of the questions and they finished up the report with a detailed description of the results. 

Matt raised his hand, “Sir, I think we are done.” The substitute had barely glanced up from his book the entire class, even when one of the groups in the back had broken a beaker. 

The substitute glanced over his book and glanced at their table where the precipitate was sitting. “I doubt that.” He mumbled under his breath. 

He came over to the table and inspected the magnetite that was in the weighing boat. He picked up the magnet and put it under the boat to test it out, the powder arced outwards from where the magnet was over the bottom of the boat. The substitute looked impressed. 

“Have you two done this lab before?” 

“No sir.” They replied.

“Well… maybe look into chemistry as a career path. Finish your writeup and you both are dismissed.” He said and then walked away. 

They did a once over of their report and then began to pack their things up. 

“Matt.” Came a whisper from across the room. Matt looked around and saw Calum staring at him. He waved his hand motioning for him to come over. He gave Milcah his copy of the report.

Meet you at the greenhouse. He thought to her as he grabbed her hand.

She rolled her eyes at him and left the room, depositing the reports on the teacher’s desk as she went. 

“What’s up?” Matt asked as he walked over to Calum’s station. He was partnered with some girl who had absolutely no clue what was going on. He looked to be just as lost. 

“We’re lost…” Calum said slowly, giving him a sheepish smile. “Could you help us out?” 

Matt looked at Calum with raised eyebrows. The girl had a smirk on her face, it looked like she was expecting him to just walk off. He looked down at their beaker to see it was still an amber color.

Matt’s eyes widened when he noticed the color, “Damn, y’all haven’t even gotten a reaction yet...” He then glanced around the room to see only one or two tables looked even close to getting a precipitate.

“So, is that a yes?” Calum asked, a smirk on his face.

Matt looked up, “Well, I’d feel bad if you failed in your first week.” He smiled at Calum and grabbed some goggles to put back on. “I’ll get you to the reaction, so all you have to do is stir it and then decant it.”

Matt grabbed the bottle of ammonia and added a little bit at a time until he saw the mixture turn slightly brown. He then put the beaker onto the magnetic stirrer and slowly added drops of the ammonia to the mixture until it turned a dark black. He took a magnet and worked the stir bar up out of the mixture.

“Ok, let the precipitate settle and then pour off the extra liquid. You should be done in like thirty minutes or so.” 

Calum looked at him, “Dang, how’d you get so good at this?” 

Matt just shrugged. He said “See ya.” and walked off. 

After Matt walked out the door he stopped and took a moment. He zeroed in on the girl who was sitting next to Calum, listening to her thoughts.

Why is Matt helping this dude? Hmm, maybe he’s trying to recruit him for the weightlifting team… He looks more like a soccer guy though. He glanced over at Matt and Milcah’s table a good amount. Maybe he’s into Milcah.

“What brings you to my practice, Sipes?” Coach asked.

Matt had wandered to the bleachers to watch the soccer practice, he asked Darby to take Milcah and Zehra home. He used some bs excuse about having to get some stuff done for a club. Matt was mildly involved so it was an okay excuse. 

“Just wanted to see how the new guy was doing.” Matt replied.

Calum was actually pretty good, thankfully. He didn’t want this new guy to ruin his reputation among the faculty. 

“I’m gonna start him.” Coach said, Matt smiled as reply. “That’s the closest thing you are gonna get to a thank you so take it.”

Matt laughed at the remark, “Wouldn’t expect any different.”

Coach grunted and walked towards the field. He blew his whistle and everyone gathered in. He said some parting words and dismissed them. Calum went to move towards the locker room but coach stopped him and pointed in his direction. He jogged over to Matt.

“Watching me now? Hmmm” Calum said, a cocky smirk plastered over his face. He had a sheen of sweat over his forehead and his hair flopped down like it was damp. 

“Just wanted to see if you were worth me putting my name on the line for.” Matt stood up and hopped off the bleachers. “Apparently I was right, you’re starting next game.” 

Calum looked at him and his eyes went wide. “Who told you that?” 

“I think I’ll save that answer for later. Go clean up, soccer boy.”

Matt was in his room, he had on a three quarters length sleeve shirt that hugged his arms nicely, and a pair of black ripped skinny jeans, with a pair of vans. He thought he looked pretty good if he did say so himself. Calum said he would pick him up at six and they would go to a local wing place. He had a few more minutes to figure out his hair. 

I’m outside – Calum

Never mind… Matt looked at his hair, he pictured what he was going for. He blurred his vision slightly as a small surge of power rushed through him. His vision went back to normal and his hair looked right. He grabbed his wallet and phone and went downstairs. He walked outside and saw Calum sitting on the hood of his car. He had on a white t-shirt with red around the hem and cuff of the shirt, it was paired with a black jeans and some tennis shoes. He looked good.

“Hey.” Matt called out. 

Calum just slid off the hood of the car and motioned for him to come on. Matt walked towards Calum’s car and when he got to the passenger door, he realized he forgot to lock his house. He visualized it and willed it to happen. He opened the car door not missing a beat. 

Since he had discovered that he had this gift when he was thirteen it had always come so naturally. The others had joked around with him and called him a prodigy. He just felt normal with everything, it was just willing something into existence, visualizing what you wanted to happen. In the beginning it had required some fancy words in Latin and complete focus. Now, he knew how to control his power. He knew when to tap into it, how much to tap into, when he needed to let loose, and how to do it safely. 

“What are you thinking about?” Calum asked. He was looking at Matt softly with a smile on his face and his eyes were kind.

“About how hungry I am! Get driving!” Matt replied laughing.

They had chosen a little burger joint in town to eat at, they shared a basket of fries and each had their own milkshake to accompany the burgers they got. 

“So, what made you move to this shithole of a town?” Matt asked Calum. Their basket of fries was empty and Calum was sucking up the last of his shake.

“Dad, he moved here for work.” Calum shrugged. “I’m not mad about it.” He said and winked at Matt. 

A slight blush appeared on Matt’s cheeks. 

“I miss my friends, but they said they’d visit me at some point.” Calum said.

“Oh nice.” Matt said, “Where did you move from?” 

“Sydney” Calum replied.

“I thought I heard an accent.” Matt said and grinned. 

“Yeah, I miss it there… It’s sunnier and I miss the beach.” Calum said.

“I bet.”

Matt got up from the booth they were sitting at, “Come on.” He directed at Calum.

They left the small diner then and walked out onto the street. Calum kept in stride with Matt as they walked down the street toward a park. 

“Guess I’m gonna be following you for a while.” Calum said.

Matt turned to look at Calum and raised his eyes. 

“I didn’t even know there was a park.” He replied and laughed. 

“Yeah” Matt replied, “There is a park”

A silence fell upon the two as they crossed the threshold into the park. It wasn’t an awkward silence though, it was a comfortable one. Matt shivered and rubbed his arms. Calum put his arm around Matt and it felt like they both held their breath for a moment. Matt exhaled, deciding to let it happen. 

“Brains and brawn eh?” Calum asked.

“What?” Matt replied, his eyebrows hiking up like Calum had just said the craziest thing ever.

Calum looked at him with his brows furrowed in slightly, “You’re smart and fit. It’s a good combo.” Calum said and winked at him. 

Matt smiled, “I guess.” He said shrugging. 

Calum pulled Matt in closer so that their sides were pressed up against each other now. His voice was taking on a softer tone, “How’d you get so smart?”.

Matt pulled away and grabbed Calum’s hand letting it fall between them but not letting go. They had stopped walking. 

“I don’t know.” Matt paused for a moment. “I guess when I can’t figure something out, I see it as a challenge.”

Calum looked him in the eyes then, “Am I a challenge?” He asked. Calum’s voice deepened.

Matt took a moment to think, he didn’t break eye contact. Calum took this opportunity to step closer. They were just inches from each other now.

“If I am, I hope you accept it.” He whispered and leaned towards Matt. 

Matt closed his eyes waiting for Calum to connect their lips. 1…2…3 nothing. Matt opened his eyes to see Calum’s eyes intently staring at him. Not blinking… not moving. Matt moved his hand in front of Calum’s face. Nothing.

FUCK, did I really just freeze him. Fucking shit, if anyone finds out about this I’ll never live it down. At least it gives me a chance to think now… Do I want him to kiss me? Yes. Ok, cool. I’m on the same page as… me. Yeah ok whatever.

Matt closed his eyes again and focused on letting time resume around him again. He heard the sound of wind whistling and then his senses were overwhelmed. Calum’s lips brushed against his own, they were incredibly soft. Matt let himself return the kiss. It was a first kiss, no tongue, no intense grabbing, nothing crazy, but it felt right. Matt would never turn this down. The kiss broke and Calum rested his forehead on Matt’s. His warm breath hit Matt’s neck and the scent of Calum rolled up to his nose. 

He smelled warm, oaky, and slightly of vanilla, probably from the milkshake he ordered earlier. It was divine. 

“I think that counts as me accepting the challenge.” Matt said after a moment. 

He smiled up at Calum who returned the smile easily. He put his arm back around Matt and they walked back through the park and to his car. 


End file.
